Scott Case and economist with the University of Phoenix says supply and demand is working. "We see that when oil prices went up, fuel prices went up, and the reverse is true that when oil prices fall that gets passed along to the consumer."
Oil prices were at 150 dollars a barrel in July. Now it's around 106 dollars a barrel. At the same time, local, gasoline prices have dropped up to 75 cents a gallon. And Case says it looks like they will keep dropping.
"Clearly in the short run we're headed lower. Now if that means 350 versus 380 right now that's hard to say but the trend is lower right now."
High fuel prices lead to surcharges from trucking companies that forced retailers to increase the price of just about everything. With fuel prices dropping, Case says other prices should dip as well. Eventually. "It always seems prices rise faster than they fall."
There's a limit to the drop though. OPEC countries don't want oil to drop below one hundred dollars a barrel, and are already cutting production, to keep supplies tight, and the prices higher than they should be.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
abc30 News Links:
Links to other news sections on our website.
- HomePage
- Fresno Local News
- State News
- National/World News
- Entertainment News
- Business News
- Politics News
- Sports News
- Health Watch
- Consumer Watch
- Mr. Food
Breaking News Alerts:
Click Here to Sign-Up for Breaking News E-Mail Alerts
Receive Breaking News alerts in your email inbox.
Click Here to Sign-Up for Text Message Alerts
Receive Breaking News alerts right on your cell phone.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------